Born in New York, he came to Illinois with his brother John Charles and established one of the first villages in Lake County, Hainesville.

[1] When he was twelve years old, he moved west with his brother John Charles and settled in Lake County, Illinois.

Haines taught school in nearby Waukegan while he studied law; he was admitted to the bar in 1851.

In 1868, he published A Practical Treatise on the Powers and Duties of Justices of the Peace and Constables in the State of Illinois.

[2] Still a popular figure in the state, Haines was elected as an independent delegate to the 1870 Illinois constitutional convention.